Miraimonogatari
by Endymion MkIII
Summary: The prolific mangaka Sengoku Nadeko finds herself signing the recently released tankobon of her smash hit new manga in an Akihabara bookstore. As she signs copy after copy, a certain person from her past requests an autograph of their own to keep.
1. Miraimonogatari

I came up with this tiny little story on a whim. I kinda really like Kaiki, specially after Koimonogatari, and I loved how he pretty much steered little Nadeko for the better. Like he said, he was the right person at the right moment, and this story is my way of imagining what could have probably happened in the far future for Nadeko thanks to Kaiki's influence.

* * *

Short story - Miraimonogatari

"Thank you for your patronage! Who should I sign it for?"

Another autograph, another reader. Sitting on this bookstore at Akihabara, surrounded by works she had read before and had yet to read, Sengoku Nadeko felt elated. It had taken her a couple of tries but her third manga had finally become a hit.

"Thank you for your patronage! Who does this one go to?"

Dressed in an unassuming brown cardigan and checkered shirt, a pair of jeans and furry boots, there she sat. Her editor had suggested she dress like this, to seem that much more approachable. Her hair done in a ponytail, the 19-year old Nadeko had taken to wear glasses, rather than go for the corrective surgery. Then again the optometrist had suggested she could still go for a bit without the procedure. At least she liked the look herself.

"Thank you for your patronage! And your name is...?"

Switching genres had done the trick, she reflected. While her 'shoujo' works had managed to introduce her to the bussiness as a whole, her third work had come from an unused storyline she had thought about back when she was still in middle school. A story in the 'seinen' style that not many knew about until now. Her editor had been reluctant at first but something in Nadeko's eyes had made her think better. Or at least that's what Miss Kurokawa had said.

Another handshake, another smile. Even if they would come and go, she felt grateful to each and every one of them. her dear readers. "Thank you for your patronage! I really hope you continue to enjoy the series!"

While the change in genre had required a change in drawing style as well, she had been up for the challenge. It helped that it felt fresh and honest to her. She could just hope that honesty could be conveyed to her readership.

"Thank you for your patronage! Who should I sign it for?" Nadeko looked up, and she saw him.

"Kaiki Deishuu, please."

Her astonished expression lasted for a whole 10 seconds, where he stared back, with the tired gaze he seemed to always have. Every time she met him, at least. His maroon longcoat, his combed back hair, his eyebags and his thin smile. The clean-shaven appearance that gave a feeling of dryness instead of cleanliness for some reason. It truly felt like they were back to the North Shirahibe Shrine, as if he had just 'deceived' her the day before this one.

It lasted for a whole 10 seconds, and then she smiled at him. She took her pen and looked down to sign his copy of the manga book. "Are you liking the story so far, Mister Deishuu?" She asked him while signing the book.

"Very much so, yes. I must say, Miss Sengoku's imagination remains as prolific as ever. Who would ever come up with a story about a gaunt-looking detective helping others with their issues while being non-chalant about it?"

She kept smiling. "I can think of at least another four titles with similar premises."

"Ah, but I think it's the way you deliver it. I specially liked the one where Mister Karasu helped the little snake girl. It felt almost like it had happened in real life. Truly, where do you get the inspiration?" He retorted, his tired deadpan never changing, his hands tucked inside his longcoat's pockets.

She finally looked up while handing the manga back at the man, a warm expression on her face. "Back where I'm from, I heard a story very similar to that one." She leaned forward, her arms resting on the table with her hands clasped. "I guess that's why it feels so genuine."

"Makes sense." He took the manga back and placed it inside his coat's pocket. "I'll make sure to keep reading your series, Miss Sengoku."

"Thank you." She replied, meaning both this and back then. Hoping he got the intention somehow. "Thank you..." She repeated under her breath, while looking down. "I appreciate it."

He turned around to walk away, there were many more customers waiting for their turn after all. "Maybe if you keep it up you'll even become one of the manga gods, huh?" He said while turning halfway to Nadeko, then resumed his way out.

She looked back up again, her face betraying her inner feelings of gratitude. She closed her eyes and a stray tear slid down her cheek. The girl next in line seemed worried for a moment, but then noticed the smile on Nadeko's face.

Nadeko steeled herself, with renewed strength and resolve. "Watch me as I reach my goal!" She yelled at Mister Deishuu, who was already crossing the door out of the bookstore.

No one was looking when the fake smiled one of his extremely rare true smiles.


	2. A Sneaky Request

I just got the inspiration to do another chapter for this, even though I wanted to make it pretty much a one-shot. Will I get more inspiration in the future? Who knows. I don't plan on making this a regular feature like "Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - A Streak of Crimson" (my main story currently) but I might grab this one to get the creative juice flowing. Hopefully we can get some entertainment out of it.

* * *

 **A Sneaky Request**

When she arrived to her hotel room in Tokyo, she sat on the bed. Letting the bags filled with manga fall on the floor, she laid down on it, her feet almost touching the ground. With both of her hands spread like a cross, she remained, looking at the roof yet not really.

It had been a tiring day. Enjoyable but tiring. She knew she had hit a jackpot with "Mr. Karasu's Odd Occurences" but she didn't quite imagine just how much. Even in this digital age when manga could be bought online, there were enough people to keep her constantly signing tankobons for around 4 hours, then an hour break, then a couple more hours. Scary.

As much as she liked seeing her fans she hoped it wouldn't happen again anytime soon.

And then there was...him. Like some old relative she used to play with when young, an uncle she enjoyed spending time with that had suddenly disappeared. Not like she knew much about such experiences anyways, her parents were always secluded regarding their extended family. The only people outside of her family she'd frequent were her friends at school, and Tsukihi.

Him. Kaiki Deishuu. She had heard more about him afterwards. How he was some sort of conman, how he had been responsible for that curse she had gotten when she was fourteen. Even when she heard she couldn't manage to get angry at him. Because of what he had done. It would be an understatement to say that he had saved her. And if she thought about it clearly, her true salvation wasn't even related to Kuchinawa. It was about her obsessions, about the slump she was in life. How she was stuck in a single track that lead nowhere.

The oddities were but spice on the story.

She had gotten this need to see him after the fact. His sudden disappearance, even if she didn't expect for him to just hang around and check up on her, only made the need stronger. She wanted to thank him, and to ask him to advice her again. Even if she loved her parents, what Kaiki had done for her made it feel like she was missing an adult in her life to truly tell her when she was screwing up. What he had done that the others hadn't.

And with time the need subsided. For the time she had felt it, she took as inspiration to write the prototype of the story she now had as a series. And it kept subsiding until he appeared again. She needed to do something. She needed to meet up with her 'uncle'.

She grabbed her cellphone and called a certain number. "Hello? Miss Hanekawa?"

* * *

"I'm curious as to why would you try to contact me, Miss Sengoku. Are you in need of my services, perhaps? Some rival author? A meddlesome editor? It might hurt your goal in the long run though if you do it like that, are you aware of that?"

"No that's-" She answered, overwhelmed by the offer and perhaps considering it for some nosey individuals. She shook her head to take that idea off her head. "I just wanted to see you, Mister Deishuu."

"Ho?" He raised an eyebrow. "Me? You just wanted to see me? If not for business, then I cannot fathom for what. My time is rather valuable, you know? I could be making some cash right now." He half-scolded her.

"I could pay you for your time."

He smirked, even in his eternal deadpan. "Like an escort? Why, are you propositioning to me?" He attempted an approach to disgust her.

"I'm not interested in that in particular." She looked at Kaiki with a gaze that denoted amusement. It occured to him that he had been caught in the act. Interesting. "I just want to talk, really. You left all of a sudden after all. After you had-"

"Stop there." He interrupted her with words and with his open palm. "Don't you have friends? Dwelling on the past won't do you any good. I did what I felt like doing and nothing more, if you feel like thanking me. Or perhaps you should pay me for my services." He looked straight into her. "Maybe a part of your proceedings, I guess we could consider the money I deposited in the shrine as an investment."

"Money isn't all you think about, Mister Deishuu." She looked right back at him, her stare intense. "Nor is it all you need."

For a slight moment he felt uncomfortable, even if he didn't show it. Crossing his arms, he decided to give the girl a break. "Fine. What do you want to talk about, then?"

With a defiant stare she admitted it. "Yeah, I guess I don't really have friends, per se. Only Tsukihi. Besides that, only acquaintances." She now turned to the side, her gaze shifting into melancholy. "But even if I did I'd still feel this need. You gave me something no one ever had before, and only saying 'thank you' felt inadequate. I wanted to meet you again and talk to you."

"And the need only grew stronger with time?" He tilted his head slightly.

"Yes. Or no. Perhaps it just remained in wait until your appearance triggered it again like a surging geyser." She smiled coyly at him. "It's your fault, Kaiki. Take responsibility."

He chuckled. Then he laughed a bit, his eyes closed. Mildly. Her gaze remained the same, challenging him, even. Entertaining and yet... "On a first name basis, now? You assume too much."

"I somehow feel you don't mind."

"Too much indeed. But I guess I'll let it slide, makes no difference to me in the end. Names are but masks." He leaned back, and extended his legs below the table. Almost touching hers. "Well, here I am. Again, what do you want to talk about?"

"Have you been well?"

"As well as well can be. On the move, you could say. Money moves too, after all."

"You're not settled, then? You go around, taking on cases?" She thought that maybe Kaiki had more in common with her 'Mister Karasu' than he let on.

"Taking on -opportunities-" He corrected her. "It's like mining, a vein won't yield the same forever. After a while it's just rock."

"I wonder how that would be..." She trailed off.

"It's good for me. Not very good for you if you truly intend to become a God of Manga." He quickly attempted to cut her idea as it surfaced.

"But authors thrive on experiences. I spent my whole life at my hometown until recently." She lowered her head, then looked up a bit, taking on her old and until now unused cutesy stare. "Maybe I could join you for a bit?"

Thankfully for Kaiki he had grown immune to those kinds of attacks a long time ago. Thank you, Senjougahara. "Hmm. You'd only be a liability."

A retort came on cue. "I have money, you know? I can cover our expenses without a problem." She raised her head completely. "And to be honest I've been on some sort of author's block lately. What my readers have been enjoying is material I accumulated before. I'll eventually run out of it. Joining up for a bit should do my creativity a lot of good."

And to his surprise he considered it. He listed on his mind reasons to just reject her offer, yet what came to his mind were reasons to accept. She wasn't a minor. She could be handy. She'd cover the expenses. She wasn't as insufferable as other people he had met, if anything, her utter sincerity was refreshing. As much as he relied on fakes, the raw contrast often made him feel good. Like cold water on weary muscles.

He supposed she was also easy on the eyes but quickly discarded that thought.

"I'll have to think about it." He offered.

"You wouldn't mind at least exchanging numbers, I hope?" She tried.

He leaned his head back a bit. "Give me yours. I'll contact you."

She wrote it on a napkin, and handed it over. As he received it, he placed it on his pocket. "I'll let you know tomorrow, I promise." He said, fully intending not to follow on such a promise.

She stood up at that. "Then I won't take any more of your time so you can start truly considering it."


	3. Not a good idea

**Not a good idea**

He thought it was rather bothersome, how he had actually found her waiting in the hotel's lobby. Somehow she had managed to locate him and now she was sitting there, tapping at her phone, with a white wool-knit skullcap covering her head, a non-descript leather jacket, some sort of booties and jeans. Deishuu didn't bother to pay attention any further once he saw her, and simply sighed without changing his permanent tired expression.

He let her wait a bit longer as he made his way to the hotel's counter, returned his room's card key and paid. Only then did he make his way to the young woman, one hand on his suitcase and another inside his longcoat.

"Who was it?" He began, startling Nadeko. "You get along with Miss Suruga now? She's the only one I allowed to know where I'd be staying." He asked, without a hint of accusation or anger, even though he did feel like maybe letting Suruga know where he'd be, in case she needed him, was in this moment a liability.

"Oh, Mr. Kaiki! My apologies." She rose from the lobby's large sofa and pocketed her cellphone. Deishuu noticed her tone didn't sound like she was sorry at all. "I thought that maybe you had been much too busy to call me, like you said. So I asked Rara, who asked a friend, who asked a friend, who asked a-"

"Yes, that's very nice." He interrupted her. "I suppose this means you're determined to accompany me." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, I thought I made that clear yesterday."

"I thought I made it clear that I'd think about it."

"But you're leaving."

"That means I thought it wasn't a good idea. Too much of a hassle."

"I'm not so sure about that." Nadeko tried. "You did look like you almost thought it'd be interesting. Really, what's the worst that can happen? I won't be getting in your way, I promise! I could really use the inspiration, otherwise I wouldn't be bothering you."

"You are already bothering me." He kept his eyes trained on hers, hoping his tried-and-tested stare would discourage her.

"Well, it's the last time!" The smile she made, with her eyes closed. It reminded him of the Shirahebi shrine, of the runt Snake goddess. He held the stare for a bit once she opened her eyes again and stared back. Like a battle of wills.

Unfortunately for him he finally relented. "Move, then. We're going to Midoriyama." Her turned around and briskly moved towards the exit. he didn't wait for her to start walking, although she soon cathced up.

"Midoriyama? In Aoba?"

"No, some small town near Fukui. A backwater town where people like me abhor going but enjoy using."

"Oh, I wonder if there's hot springs there?" She wondered while walking by Deishuu's side, her right index finger on her lips and her eyes looking up.

"You're free to go find out while I work." He commented in hopes that she'd really do so and stay off his hair during their stay.

"Maybe I will!" She chirped happily. The brightness in her voice made him cringe. He wondered if she had become the mask she usually showed back then, but the recklesness and foolhardyness she had demonstrated told him she simply had somehow found a way to get over her issues. Yet another proof that brutal honesty was an effective strategy to slap deluded children.

* * *

They reached the train station a half-hour later. Noticing the lack of any actual luggage from her besides her handbag, he wondered. As they waited and neither of them said another word he let his curiosity get the best of him. "So you're gonna use the same clothes during our stay there? Buy local clothes?"

"Hmmm...that's actually a good idea." She rubbed her chin in wonder. "I mean, buying local clothes! Not using the same set!" She was quick to clear up the misunderstanding that might have not even crossed Deishuu's mind. "Anyways, I will have Rara-chan send me some clothes from back home once I know the place where we're staying. I wasn't staying here in Tokyo for a lot of days anyways."

He simply grunted in response, and turned his eyes back to the platform. How very lighthearted, he thought. In a way he could see the advantages of discarding what you carried and keeping the essential, even if that made it more expensive. It was certainly something to consider though, and he had to admit to doing it sometimes as well. usually it was just to vanish from wherever he had been last, whenever his work was done. Wear a different set of clothes, style your hair a little different. It was a blessing to have such a non-descript face.

The train finally arrived and they boarded in silence, Nadeko still tapping away at her cellphone. And he wondered once again, uselessly, if it would truly be alright.

Small-town oddities were rather xenophobic, after all...


End file.
